Children and other bowlers who have little control over a bowling ball can become frustrated if their attempts to knock down bowling pins frequently result in the bowling ball rolling into a gutter rather than striking bowling pins. Bowling bumper rails have been used to prevent a bowling ball from falling off a bowling lane and into a gutter. Such rails are retractably positioned above the bowling lane surface near the gutter to contain the bowling ball on the bowling lane. While bowling bumper rails are designed and constructed to withstand repeated lateral impacts, a problem can occur if the bowling ball is thrown straight into the end of the bowling bumper rail. In such a situation, all of the energy from the bowling ball transfers through the bowling bumper rail, potentially causing damage to the bowling bumper rail, its positioning system, and/or its actuator system.